Oklahoma City Thunder: 3 players facing most pressure in 2019-20

Chris Paul

It’s hard to say that a nine-time All Star and eight-time All-NBA player who is commonly referred to as the “Point God” is facing pressure heading into the season, yet here we are.

Paul joins the Thunder as a 34-year-old whose best days are behind him. Reading between the lines, it’s pretty clear that he served as salary filler to facilitate the Russell Westbrook trade rather than an asset that the Thunder wanted — or a destination Paul desired.

That is the exact reason why the future Hall of Famer has pressure this season.

If Paul can come into an Oklahoma City Thunder team that isn’t expected to compete for the postseason and exceed expectations it could go a long way in providing a late-career face lift to his perception and raise his trade value.

Make no mistake, Paul is a tremendous player, even at 34 years old. His style of play has never been predicated on athleticism. His court awareness, positional soundness on defense and shooting are still really, really good.

It’s his contract that scares possible trade partners away. After this season he is slated to make another $85.6 million over the following two years.

The only way for Paul to end up on a title contending team at the end of his career is for a good team to trade for him.

He now faces the pressure of proving that he is still a top-tier point guard and a high quality teammate and locker room presence for one of those teams to be motivated enough to make that trade — and take the massive contract along with him.